Videogame Theory and Analysis

Photo of three students working on a handheld videogame.

Class TA Kristina Drzaic (center) and students Kenny Peng (left) and Clara Rhee (right) examine a game for the Nintendo DS system. (Photo by Dr. Alice Robison.)

Instructor(s)

MIT Course Number

CMS.998 / CMS.600

As Taught In

Fall 2006

Level

Undergraduate / Graduate

Cite This Course

Course Description

Course Features

Course Description

This course is an introduction to the interdisciplinary study of commercial videogames as texts, examining their cultural, educational, and social functions in contemporary settings. Students play and analyze videogames while examining debates surrounding how games function within socially situated contexts. Readings include contemporary game theory (Gee, Squire, Steinkuehler, Jenkins, Klopfer, Zimmerman and Salen, Juul, Bartle, Taylor, Aarseth) and the completion of a contemporary commercial videogame chosen in consultation with the instructor.

Related Content

Alice Robison. CMS.998 Videogame Theory and Analysis. Fall 2006. Massachusetts Institute of Technology: MIT OpenCourseWare, https://ocw.mit.edu. License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA.


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